Femto cells—building-based wireless access points interfaced with a wired broadband network—are generally deployed to improve indoor wireless coverage, and to offload a mobility radio access network (RAN) operated by a wireless service provider. Improved indoor coverage includes stronger signal and improved reception (e.g., voice or data), ease of session or call initiation, and session or call retention as well. Offloading a RAN reduces operational and transport costs for the service provider since a lesser number of end users utilizes over-the-air radio resources (e.g., radio frequency channels), which are typically limited.
Coverage of a femto cell, or femto access point (AP), is generally intended to be confined within the bounds of an indoor compound (e.g., a residential or commercial building) in order to mitigate interference among mobile stations covered by a cellular cell and terminals covered by the femto AP. Additionally, confined coverage can reduce interference among terminals serviced by disparate, neighboring femto cells as well. Femto cells typically operate in licensed portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, and generally offer plug-and-play installation; e.g., automatic configuration of femto AP subsequent to femto cell subscriber registration with a service provider. Coverage improvements regarding voice and/or data services with substantive delay sensitivity via femto cells can also mitigate customer attrition as long as a favorable subscriber perceived service experience is attained. In addition, a richer variety of wireless voice and data services can be offered to customers via a femto cell since such service offerings do not rely primarily on mobility RAN resources.
Rich or superior subscriber experience when accessing service through femto cells depends at least in part on adequate handover performance when a mobile station moves from cellular, or macro, network coverage to femto cell coverage. In particular, service retention during handover and data deployment (e.g., routing) from the cellular network to the femto cell depends at least on attachment to a proper femto cell access point, and ensuing preservation of active service(s) like a voice call or data session initiated prior to handoff. It should be appreciated that handover performance can challenge subscriber experience in view of uncovered performance issues during initial deployment. Specific aspects to accomplish such retention of service(s) and thus ensure superior user experience can be dictated at least in part by relative capabilities (such as packet data protocol support) of entities that manage femto cell service with respect to capabilities of a cellular network platform, and efficient management of such capabilities.